Broken Things and Dead Things
by Jaclyn May
Summary: When there is no where for you to run or hide, what do you do? Blood covered her torn black gear and stained her pale skin. Bruises had already begun to appear along the side of her face where deep gashes had been etched into her skin. As she fell and the darkness surrounded her, all she could think was that she didn't want to die, but everyone dies eventually. Jace/OC


**Prologue**

Ashley Winters shivered as the cold November air swirled around her, whipping her blonde hair into her face. Her cheeks were tracked with her tears as she walked down the street towards the Institute. Blood covered her torn black gear and stained her pale skin. Bruises had already begun to appear along the side of her face where deep gashes had been etched into her skin. Her whole body ached with pain and her pace was slowing as the pain in her ankle became worse, spreading like white-hot fire throughout her whole leg. She wished now that she hadn't lost her stele.

She looked over her shoulder and a glimmer of movement caught her eye. Her breath caught in her throat as she froze. A dark figure was moving towards her at an incredible pace, faster than any human and faster than most Downworlders. She turned back around and broke into a run, her feet pounding along the pavement as she pushed her tired body to the limit. The Institute was only metres away as she willed her legs to move faster, driving through the pain. Shadowhunters didn't fear death or pain, they used it to motivate themselves.

Her hands slammed against the handles of the door and after a moments pause the doors swung open. She staggered inside the Institute, falling to her hands and knees as the doors closed behind her with a dull thud. Her whole body flared with pain as she threw up, her stomach contents mixing with blood and spraying across the carpeted floor. Everything hurt and she found herself struggling to breathe.

A groan passed her lips as she forced herself to her feet and over to the elevator. She had to get to the infirmary. She could already feel the demons poison moving through her body, setting her veins on fire. Her throat had begun to close up and she found herself unable to speak, each breath becoming shorter and harder. She wasn't going to make it to the elevator let alone the infirmary. She glanced around in panic, reaching out and pushing a vase from a pedestal.

The ornamental vase fell to the ground at the moment she lost her footing, tripping over own feet and falling to the ground. She cried out silently in pain as the vase smashed to pieces, the glass flying everywhere and catching the attention of the three who were currently in the kitchen.

She heard voice from the kitchen that abruptly stopped at the sound of the vase. One female, two male. She figured it was likely to be Isabelle and Alec Lightwood accompanied by Jace Wayland. She knew all three of them from the times she had spent at the Institute. Izzy and Jace had to be about fifteen now and Alec sixteen. Alec was her age and the two were close friends. She also got along well with Izzy, but she sometimes found it hard not to knock Jace's head against the wall. She knew a few arrogant people, but his arrogance was a whole new level.

As she tried to move again, she couldn't help but wince as the glass across the floor cut into her already battered body, but she didn't have the energy to make any sounds of pain. She could no longer hear the voices coming from the kitchen and figured she'd made enough noise to arouse suspicion.

Ashley tried to push herself up into a sitting position as she heard footsteps approach. There were murmurs of speech before a gasp of surprise she guessed to be Izzy due to its pitch. A pair of hands were on her shoulder next, turning her onto her back, causing her to cough, red liquid spraying out of her mouth. She guessed she must've done a lot of damage. So much for a routine kill. Her vision blurred more as she started to fade out and a gasp of pain escaped her as she felt hands applying pressure to the worst of her injuries. That was when she felt the signature burning sensation of a stele. One of them was carving an iratze into her skin. Moments later the pain began to numb in her body, but her head was still pounding.

She blinked a couple of times, willing her eyes to fade back into focus rather than continuing to be blurred. She didn't know if it was because of the pounding in her head, or the tears in her eyes. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to show weakness in front of her three friends. Before she could think on it any more, black spots began to dance across her vision. She shook her head to try and clear them, the movement sending a shooting pain through her head. She screwed her eyes shut, trying to stop the pain. The last thoughts going through her mind as the darkness closed in around her, was that fact that she wasn't ready to die.

**A/N Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it :D Leave a review and let me know what you think :D**

**No Review = No Chapters 3**

**JM x**


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